JOTs

In my eyes dad has a sharp memory. He’s the master of practiced control - demanding self-discipline above all. Perhaps due to the two arrests and time in a prison camp, he knew then - and knows now - how to block out pain and discomfort so he can ‘go the distance.’ During the worst days of his bladder infection he was able to compartmentalize the trauma and block out the pain; much like he must have been forced to do during his time in Buchenwald Concentration Camp. This unique conversation led me to wonder if he had ever taken the time to evaluate his life, the towns and cities in which he had lived or passed through, the jobs he had done, the people he had met, the encounters that made an impression upon him, and also the exhilarating times - and perhaps the times of tragedy, too. If he did, then it was worth remembering that his life story was unique. I asked him about his life and he responded by holding out his hand; I accepted and together we took a journey through the history of his life, back to the Ukraine, back to his childhood. Together we wandered back to when he was Dmytro Ihor Korchak, a young boy of 16. He told me about his homeland with pride in his voice and a distant longing in his blue eyes.